BRICS expected to focus on Africa(2)

He said the proposed BRICS Development Bank will in particular come in handy in Africa's efforts to finance infrastructure development.

"Africa is a continent that needs to be helped and we are ready to provide that help," said his counterpart, Brazilian Minister for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Fernndo Pimentel. "Strengthening commercial ties with the rest of Africa is a challenge that the BRICS must overcome," he added.

The focus on Africa by BRICS is seen as being driven the enormous economic and social transformation potential the continent has showed in the last decade.

Some of the fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa, a fact that was rarely expected two decades ago.

Africa has not been overly affected by the financial crisis in Europe and the slowdown in the U. S. economy partly because of the strong local demand that is driving economic growth.

Africa is also benefiting from commodities price boom partly triggered by demand for commodities in China and India.

The continent also holds the world's largest deposits of unexploited minerals.

African economies are now relatively better managed compared to two decades ago with the political leadership showing passion to achieve socio-economic development.

The continent is expected to have 2 billion people by 2030. Some BRICS members like China have already experienced the value of doing business with Africa, with the value of China-Africa trade in 2012 expected to hit 200 billion U. S. dollars from 40 billion dollars in 2005.